Back to Earth
by American Vigor
Summary: Join the crew of the Outlaw Star on a new adventure to the homeworld of Gene Starwind and the whole of the human race: Planet Earth! Old friends and enemies return in this sequel to the original series!
1. Part 1 of 4

**Back to Earth**

**- an Outlaw Star Fanfiction - **

**(Part One of Four)**

_Disclaimer: Outlaw Star, the glorious franchise it is, is not in any way a property I control. I can only wish to supplement its mystique with stories such as the one herein. The same is in regards to related characters, symbols, plot elements, etc._

_With that said, I hope you enjoy the story!_

* * *

It seemed like a lifetime since he'd been here, the planet he could always call his own.

He was born here, just as the human race itself had been.

Gene reflected on what were now his many years of service as the captain of the _Outlaw Star_ as the brilliant, golden rays of Earth's sun enlivened the planet's surface with light, showing the cascading oceans and varied landmasses from above.

"So, this is the home of you humans?" Aisha asked as she pounced upon Gene's back, to his beleaguered dismay. "It looks like nothing compared to the awesome and exquisite home of the Ctarl-Ctarl!"

"I'd expect a comment like that from you," Gene said as he shrugged her off, then assessed the parameters for atmospheric entry. "Jim, how's our engine output?"

"It's stable, but we're still going to have to replace numbers 2 and 3 after that encounter with those bandits a couple of days ago," the now 17-year-old Hawking said. "Wow Gene, I didn't realize this planet was so beautiful."

"It's a gem among the stars," Suzuka said after a sip of tea. "It's a place we can all call home."

"Not me!" Aisha said. "Ctarl is a much better world!"

"Oh yeah?" Gene asked. "How do you figure?"

"There's molten lava everywhere!" Aisha said. "You remember the time we took a break on Planet Tenrei and I went to go relax in that lava pit? Well, of course you, of all people, do Gene," she said with a snicker.

"Regrettably," he said with a blushed expression. "What's your point?"

"We Ctarl-Ctarl love the heat!" she said. "I don't like the looks of those ice caps on this planet of yours. This place better have some hot spots."

"We're not here for a vacation," Gene said. "We're here to go find that thing that Fred wanted. The … what was it again, Mel?"

"A hydroponic turbo booster device," Melfina said with a smile. "Earth apparently has the best manufacturers for this particular device in all the human settlements of the galaxy."

"It's no wonder why," Suzuka said. "With all the environmental destruction in the years right before the First Great Wave of Space Colonization, the people of Earth needed to find a way to grow enough crops to still survive."

"And to grow crops in space without soil," Melfina said. "So what part of the planet are we going to, Gene?" she asked as she embraced him warmly.

He embraced her back with his right arm, hugging her closer, while he used his left hand to type in the entry coordinates.

"An old city with a long story," Gene said. "We're going to be landing in the Avenue Grande Spaceport of New York City. I've heard it's a big one."

The _Outlaw Star_ descended, and from the cockpit its crew observed what had once been known as the Atlantic Ocean inching ever closer.

"Turn left, Gene!" Jim said excitedly, wondering why Gene was piloting the ship straight into a large body of water. "New York City is 500 miles to the west!"

"Just having a little fun, Jim," Gene said as he continued to nosedive the ship toward the ocean.

Within 1000 meters of impact, Gene shifted the controls enough so that the _Outlaw Star_'s angle of entry became more and more parallel to the ocean's surface, eventually evening out enough that the ship didn't even graze the top of the water but made waves that surged on its port and starboard sides.

"Show-off," Suzuka said.

"After more than five years of piloting this hunk of junk, I've picked up a few skills here and there," Gene said.

"For your information, I resent being called a 'hunk of junk,' Gene," Gilliam II said over the ship's speaker system. "I would hope that through all we've been through that you would have much more respect for the fastest and most capable ship in the galaxy."

"Relax Gilliam, of course I do," Gene said as he leaned back and placed his feet up on the control panels.

"I wonder about you sometimes, Gene," Gilliam said.

* * *

_Up next in Part Two: the crew of the _Outlaw Star_ reunites with an unexpected ally. Stay tuned!_

_Thanks so much for reading!_

_Please review!_

_Entry for Part 1 of 4 completed: November 30, 2010_

_In fun and fanfiction,_

_American Vigor_


	2. Part 2 of 4

**Back to Earth**

**- an Outlaw Star Fanfiction - **

**(Part Two of Four)**

_Disclaimer: Outlaw Star, the glorious franchise it is, is not in any way a property I control. I can only wish to supplement its mystique with stories such as the one herein. The same is in regards to related characters, symbols, plot elements, etc._

_With that said, I hope you enjoy the story!_

* * *

They were walking through a bustling street, seeing and hearing a variety of sights and sounds that reflected the various cultures that had emerged from the Earth.

There had been a time on this planet when it would have been unthinkable for Galactic Standard "E" and Galactic Standard "M" to exist side by side on the same street corner. What were the outdated names for those languages again? English and Mandarin?

While Gene wasn't sure of the answer, he was acutely aware of something else.

"I'm getting kind of hungry," he said, as his eyes scanned the street in his quest to find a fitting eatery.

"What else is new?" Jim asked, while looking at his wristwatch. "Do we even have time to eat right now, Gene? I thought our appointment with Fred's supplier was supposed to be in about an hour."

"Don't worry about it, Jim," Gene said. "We'll just have to eat really fast; that's all."

"Any time is a good time for food," Aisha said, changing her walking pattern to that of an upbeat march. "What's good to eat on Earth, anyway?"

Suzuka briefly smirked.

"The origins of almost all the food choices on the galaxy's human-majority worlds can be traced here," Suzuka said. "There's a lot of good stuff to choose from. I don't know much about New York's Japanese eateries, but maybe after our appointment we'll make a brief stop in Tokyo so we can get some sushi from the original source."

"That could work," Gene said. "Right now, though, I'm looking for a certain type of place."

"As I said before, we don't have time to dawdle around, Gene," Jim said. "Let's just go anywhere. We don't need to be particular about it."

"Since you weren't born on Earth, kiddo, you don't understand how important it is that I find the type of place I'm looking for," Gene said. "There's got to be one of these restaurants somewh – Ah! There's one!"

Gene pointed to a sign on a nearby building. The sign was circular, and it was predominantly yellow and white, with a mixture of brown and red spots. Under the circle was text that said "Mama Luigi's Pizzeria."

"That will do!" Gene excitedly said as he began to jog over. "Common, folks. Let's get some good old-fashioned New York pizza!"

In the midst of her running, Melfina raised a point.

"What's so special about New York's pizza, Gene?" she innocently asked.

"You've got to taste it. After that, you'll know what I'm talking about," he said.

The five travelers made their way into the pizzeria, and Gene and Jim proceeded to the front counter.

"It's been about 15 years since I had some, but I remember it well," Gene said. "I'll take ten slices of the pepperoni. Extra grease, please."

Gene and Jim carried the slices over to the girls, who had taken a seat near the restaurant's back.

"Two for each of us!" Gene said, as he passed out the slices, along with some water.

"You couldn't have spent a little extra to get some flavored drinks?" Suzuka asked.

Gene smiled.

"Trust me Suzuka, New York's pizza is a lot better when you have it with water because water doesn't get in the way of the pizza's flavor. Dig in, everybody!"

After a few bites, Aisha's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Ooooh! It's so good!" she said, savoring the taste over many moments. "This is so much better than all the other pizza I've ever had! How do they make it here? I need more!"

"You see, Mel? Aisha hasn't even gotten to her second slice yet, and she wants more," Gene said. "If that isn't an indication of this pizza's quality, then I don't know what would be."

"Aisha just loves food in general, Gene. She'd say that about anything," Jim said, as he chewed some of his first slice.

"Hey!" Aisha said, in a defensive tone. "I may not show it all the time, but I could be quite particular about what I eat. And this stuff is amazing!"

She then proceeded, in feral fashion, to gobble down the entirety of her second slice in the span of 10 seconds.

In a symbolic contrast of their personalities, Suzuka, who by this time had only taken five small bites out of her first slice, sat delicately while relishing the flavor.

"You see? Even Suzuka likes it," Gene said.

"I must admit, it's better than I'd expected," Suzuka said. "Back when I was actively killing people for a living, I'd often hop from planet to planet, and the pizza out there was never as good as the pizza here. I guess this is life's way of rewarding me for living out a more peaceful existence."

Aisha then leaned over Suzuka's right shoulder, ogling at Suzuka's second, untouched slice.

"Suzuka, can I have your second slice?" Aisha asked in a yearning manner. "Pretty please?"

"Alright."

"Yaaaaaay!" Aisha yelled as she leapt over Suzuka, dived into the slice, and crashed face-first into the table, breaking it in half.

While Gene face-palmed, Melfina softly chucked.

"I guess Aisha really likes it!" she said while she prepared to eat her second slice, which she'd fortunately been holding before Aisha's maneuver.

Jim made his own observation, and muttered it under his breath.

"While it's sensually quite good, this is nowhere near as sensually pleasing as when Melfina used to strip down and get into the navigation tank …." he said, not expecting anyone to have heard him.

Then, his sense of smarts kicked in, and he suddenly remembered that Aisha's hearing was much better than that of a human.

"It appears you've got some interesting stuff going through your head right now, Jim. Wanna share it with all of us?" Aisha asked, looking at him slyly from her chair. She had decided to take a seat again after realizing she'd trashed the table.

"What, did he say something?" Gene asked.

"Aisha, don't!" Jim yelled.

She looked at Jim cheekily, then whispered into Gene's ear.

Gene grinned, then got a bit serious.

"I told you to stop being perverted, Jim!"

"Oh yeah, like you're really one to talk, Gene!"

"Hey, you guys broke my table!" the restaurant's manager said angrily, as he walked over to the five of them. "That table's going to cost you!"

Gene sighed.

"Oh great, and I was trying to save up for something," he muttered. "How much will it be?"

"It'll be 200 wong."

As Gene began to reach into his pocket, a hooded man who had been sitting at a nearby booth loudly spoke up.

"Relax, folks. I'll cover this."

The hooded man stood and walked over to them.

He reached into his pocket and found his wallet, reaching inside for the wong. He handed the wong to the manager, who accepted the payment after holding the bills up to a light to make sure they were not counterfeit.

"Good money's good money," the manager said as he began to walk back to the kitchen. "You guys have a good one."

Gene had not yet gotten a good look at the face of the hooded individual, but he felt as though the voice sounded familiar.

"Thanks, mister. I owe you one," Gene said, as he offered his right hand for a handshake.

The hooded man smiled, and did not offer his hand in return.

"I'm not so sure you'd want to shake my hand, Gene," the hooded man said, retaining the smile on his face.

Gene shifted his lightheartedness to a tone of severity, while withdrawing his hand.

"How do you know my name?" Gene asked, harshly.

"This is why," the man said, as he lifted the hood from concealing the upper portion of his face.

The five crew members of the _Outlaw Star_ suddenly became quite alarmed.

The uncovering prompted Gene and Jim to reveal their Caster Guns and point them at the man, while Suzuka unsheathed her katana and Aisha readied herself in a fighting stance.

The other customers in the restaurant watched with fervent attention as the man stood his ground and held out his palms. He revealed that they were empty, as if he was trying to communicate that he didn't intend on using a weapon or fighting back.

Melfina was the first to mention his name.

"Ron MacDougall!" she screamed, with a mix of fear and anxiety quite evident in her voice.

"Relax, Melfina. I didn't come here to kill any of you," MacDougall said.

Gene sneered at the comment.

"I don't believe you for a second, MacDougall," he said, while keeping his Caster Gun pointed close to the other's face. "And why'd you lay low for five years and suddenly reappear here and now? Even the underground thought you were dead!"

"As you can tell, I'm very much alive," MacDougall said. "And the only reason I bothered to follow you here was so that I could warn you."

Gene did a double take, and he relaxed his grip on his Caster Gun.

"You came here to warn us? About what?" Gene asked.

"Let's all have a seat at the booth I was just at so we can catch up on a few things," MacDougall said, motioning with his right hand for them to follow.

After a few moments, Gene reluctantly lowered his weapon. Jim and Suzuka followed suit, while Aisha relaxed her stance.

MacDougall's smug smile became a wider grin, and he began to walk back to the booth.

"It looks like we're going to have to reschedule our appointment," Suzuka said, as she put her katana back into its sheathe.

"This isn't exactly the type of welcome home I was expecting," Gene said, as he hesitantly began to walk forward.

MacDougall was pleased that they had decided to approach, and in the triumph of the moment, he leaned back and sipped his drink.

* * *

_Up next in Part Three: Ron tells Gene the dire truth while Melfina catches up with another old acquaintance …. Stay tuned! _

_Thanks so much for reading!_

_Please review!_

_Entry for Part 2 of 4 completed: February 26, 2011_

_In fun and fanfiction,_

_American Vigor_


End file.
